RSL v Minn Winner to Face San Jose v. FT. Lauderdale Winner, June 5 in U.S. Open Cup 4th Round

RSL v MINN WINNER TO FACE SAN JOSE v FT. LAUDERDALE WINNER ON JUNE 5 IN U.S. OPEN CUP 4TH-ROUND

Rio Tinto Stadium Kickoff Set for 7:00 p.m. MT on Tuesday, May 29; Minnesota Stars FC First RSL Opponent in 99th Edition of U.S. Soccer’s National Championship

SANDY, Utah / CHICAGO (Wednesday, May 23, 2012) – As announced last night, Real Salt Lake opens its return to Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play next Tuesday, May 29, with the Claret-and-Cobalt hosting the NASL (Division II) Minnesota Stars FC at Rio Tinto Stadium with kickoff set for 7:00 p.m. MT. U.S. Soccer announced today that the winner of the RSL v Minnesota match will advance to face the winner of the San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) and Fort Lauderdale Strikers (NASL) in the tournament’s fourth round, to be played on Tuesday, June 5.

Should RSL defeat Minnesota next Tuesday, Rio Tinto Stadium will host Fort Lauderdale a week later on Tuesday, June 5 IF the Strikers down San Jose – currently 7-2-3 with 24 points in the MLS Western Conference. If the Earthquakes win on May 29 against Fort Lauderdale, it will host either RSL (8-3-2, 26 points, West #1) or Minnesota on Tuesday, June 5 at Cagan Stadium on the Stanford University campus.

Tickets for RSL’s debut in the 99th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup are NOW on sale to the public, with tickets in all general seating areas at Rio Tinto Stadium costing just $10 for current Real Salt Lake Season Ticket Holders and only $15 for the general public. Real Salt Lake “PRIDE” Season Ticket Holders will have their seating locations reserved throughout Wednesday and Thursday, and can purchase an unlimited amount of tickets. U.S. Open Cup contests are NOT already included in the 2012 ticket package and MUST be purchased separately.

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is an annual, single-elimination competition open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer.. This year’s tournament proper kicked off last week with 16 First Round matches contested across the country, with four amateur sides prevailing. The 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup continued tonight with 32 teams pairing off for Second Round fixtures, with the 16 teams that emerge matching up against MLS opponents in the Third Round on May 29. The U.S. Open Cup “Round of 16” will be held June 5, followed by four Quarterfinal Round games on June 26, a pair of Semifinal Round games on July 10 and the 99th Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final on August 7 or 8.

Winning the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup – U.S. Soccer’s National Championship tournament – would offer Real Salt Lake a road back to the CONCACAF Champions League tournament, the continental club championship the Utah side was on the cusp of winning last spring. Participation in MLS Cup 2012 and claiming the MLS Supporters’ Shield (regular season) title would provide alternate routes for qualification into the 2013/14 edition of the CONCACAF Champions League. RSL finds out its group pairings in this year’s CCL tourney on Wednesday, May 30.

A year ago, RSL won its third-round Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup contest at home against the USL PRO Wilmington Hammerheads, emerging 2-0 in a match featuring goals by DF Tony Beltran and FW Jean Alexandre. A few weeks later, RSL dropped the quarterfinal match to FC Dallas by the same score to suffer elimination from the tourney, the deepest that Utah’s club has ever progressed in the Open Cup. Last year’s appearance in the U.S. Open Cup proper marked RSL’s first since 2006, the final season in which all MLS teams automatically entered the competition’s earlier rounds. For four consecutive years from 2007-10, RSL was forced to try and earn its spot in the domestic tournament as one of at least nine Major League Soccer sides fighting for the two “play-in” positions allocated to America’s top-flight division. RSL’s all-time U.S. Open Cup history is as follows:

REAL SALT LAKE – US OPEN CUP HISTORY

vs. Team

GP

W-L-T

OT

ShO

GF

GA

Mtg.

Round

Minnesota Thunder (USL)

1

0-1-0

0-1-0

4

6

2005

Rd of 16

Virginia Beach (USL)

1

1-0-0

1-0-0

2

1

2006

Rd of 16

Kansas City Wizards

1

1-0-0

2

1

2007

Play-in

Colorado Rapids

2

0-2-0

1

3

2007

Quarterfinal

Columbus Crew

1

0-1-0

0

2

2008

Play-in

Seattle Sounders FC

1

0-1-0

1

4

2009

Play-in

San Jose Earthquakes

2

1-0-1

1-0

7

3

2010

Play-in

D.C. United

2

0-1-0

0-1-0

1

2

2010

Play-in

Wilmington (USL)

1

1-0-0

2

0

2011

Rd of 16

FC Dallas

1

0-1-0

0

2

2011

Quarterfinal

TOTALS

12

4-7-1

1-2-0

1-0

20

24

During the team’s inaugural 2005 season, RSL traveled to Minnesota to play its first-ever U.S. Open Cup contest against the Stars’ forerunner in Division II professional soccer in the area, the Minnesota Thunder. Despite a hat trick by former captain and current head coach Jason Kreis – the only three-goal performance in club history prior to Robbie Findley’s outburst in the 2009 home opener – RSL dropped the affair by a 4-6 score after 120 minutes.

The 2012 champion will earn a $100,000 cash prize, while the runner-up will collect $50,000 (both prizes awarded by U.S. Soccer). The top Division III (USL PRO) and Amateur Division clubs (USL PDL, USASA & NPSL) will each receive a $10,000 prize. The winner also will have the team’s name engraved on the historic Dewar Challenge Trophy, the oldest trophy in American team sports that is housed in the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, N.Y. The tournament has crowned a champion for 98 consecutive years dating back to 1914.